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Camera traps in Nepal's Bardia National Park identified 37 tigers
living in and near the park in 2011, a marked increase from two
years before when only 18 were recorded there, according to the
conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Shubash Lohani, a researcher with the group originally from
Nepal, credits the increase to a commitment by the Nepalese
government to protect the endangered big cats and crack down on
illegal poaching, as well as better training and resources given
to park rangers, cooperation by local communities and
improvements in grassland habitat.

"This is a result of the government's commitment to doubling
Nepal's tiger numbers [by 2022] and is proof positive that this
goal is achievable if grassroots efforts by local communities and
rangers on the frontlines of tiger conservation are complemented
by high-level political support," he said.

Threats to tigers remain

The group has worked with the Nepalese government and local
communities to double the number of guard posts in the park since
2008. Rangers have cracked down on poaching, arresting more 300
poachers and traders in the country in 2011 alone.

However, illegal hunting of the endangered cats throughout their
range remains an enormous threat to their survival and is fueled
by growing
demand for their parts, which are traditionally thought to
have medicinal value (despite strong evidence to the contrary),
Lohani said.

Camera traps used in the study, published in an announcement
by the government of Nepal, also found tigers moving through the
Khata wildlife corridor to reach India's Katarniaghat Wildlife
Sanctuary.

These wildlife corridors are vital for allowing the animals to
move throughout their range, and in the future, the WWF plans to
better protect and improve the habitats of these pathways in
Nepal and elsewhere, Lohani said.

Tigers identified

Researchers have improved grassland habitats by removing trees
and conducting controlled burns over the past few years, which
has allowed ungulates and other deer species — a primary food
source for tigers — to thrive.

Tigers can have many offspring if they are healthy; photographs
by tourists suggest that one Nepalese female has given birth to
eight cubs in the past few years, Lohani said.

Camera traps took about 300 photographs of tigers in the park in
2011, from which 37 individuals were identified by their unique
pattern of stripes, Lohani said.

In 2011, locals voluntarily gave up 135 guns to the park
authorities as a result of grassroots anti-poaching activities
supported by WWF Nepal. The group also works with 12
community-based anti-poaching units to help stop wildlife crime.

But there is still much work to be done if tigers are to be
saved. "Although this is an encouraging result, we need more
cooperation from
other countries where tigers live to protect the animals, and
to crack down on poaching and illegal trade in wildlife," he
said.